


Snippets of McDanno

by Lozza



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: 30 Day McDanno Challenge, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-10
Updated: 2016-04-11
Packaged: 2018-05-25 22:16:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 19,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6212293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lozza/pseuds/Lozza
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>30 McDanno shorts</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My contribution to Stellameadow's 30 Day challenge, although it's taken me 3 and a half months so far! I'm going to start putting them up to make me finish them off.... 
> 
> These are in no particular order, they may be influenced by my other stories, or not as the case may be. 
> 
> Enjoy!

1\. Going shopping 

Danny moved along the aisle with his cart, picking stuff up, and either putting it back or putting it in the cart. He was in a world of his own; he knew what he needed from going through the cupboards at the house beforehand so he was content to do exactly that. What he hadn’t counted on was Steve virtually demanding to come with him for some reason. Not that the SEAL stayed with him, as soon as Danny grabbed a cart and walked into the store he disappeared somewhere, looking all squirrelly and ‘covert’. He kept coming back and distracting his partner in some ways, pointing something out here, talking about something unrelated there. But Danny wasn’t fooled; he had a daughter and was getting to know his younger son, so he could figure out what was going on. And one time when Steve reappeared and leant close to him to steal a kiss, Danny pulled away for a moment to call him on it. 

He grabbed the arm his partner was trying move close to the cart with his free hand and stopped him. “You can’t really think that I don’t know what you’re doing, Babe,” he commented with a smile on his face. “Really.”

Steve looked down at him, eyes wide, trying to look innocent. “What do you mean, Danno?” he asked him.

Danny narrowed his eyes at him. “I have a couple of kids, one of which is a genius at hiding things in a shopping cart,” he told him, and pulled Steve’s arm back from behind him so he could see what he was hiding. It was a box of cookies of some sort, with lots of chocolate chips in them, something he would always castigate Danny for. “Cookies?” he asked him. “Are you feeling okay?”

Steve smirked at him. “I’m fine, Danno,” he replied. “These may not be for me.”

Danny wasn’t appeased. “Really?” he asked dryly. “A bit like the peppermint patties in the freezer aren’t for you. You do realise I know that you keep a stash hidden somewhere else, just to stop me from getting them. And M&Ms too.”

Steve looked shocked for a moment before he managed to school his face but not quick enough to hide it from his partner. “I don’t…” he retorted, but he didn’t sound convinced, even himself. 

Danny grinned and reached up to press a kiss to the side of his mouth. “You don’t fool me with your fitness, healthy eating stuff,” he told him fondly. “I know you, you big marshmallow. Just put what you want in the cart, we do live together you know.”

Steve’s smile turned unspeakably soft and fond as he looked down at his partner, as if he still couldn’t believe it. “I know,” he told him, his tone telling him everything Danny needed to know. 

The blond smiled up at him as well. “It’s a damn shame we’re in public, Babe,” he said to him quietly. “You keep looking at me like that and I’m going to climb you like a tree.”

Steve snorted and put his pack of cookies into the cart before he pulled away, reluctantly. “We can’t have that, someone will complain to the Governor, and I don’t want to be called in for another meeting like that one any time soon.”

Danny nodded and stepped back too. “I guess,” he replied, but not happy. “Maybe we should hurry this along a bit so we can get home.”

Steve’s face lit up. “Good idea, Danno,” he told him, and rushed off again. Danny watched him go with a rueful shake of his head before he got back to his own shopping. He didn’t bother looking through the cart for any other contraband, he’d find it soon enough when they got to the check out. 

 

*************************************************************

 

Steve was still laughing to himself when they got home at his partner’s outraged shout when he found the pineapple and ham pizza he’d hidden at the bottom of the cart. The SEAL was proud of himself, he had pushed it right to the bottom, and Danno had been in mid chatter with the teller when it had gone through. His outrage was something to behold, and he was still grumpy about it when they got home. It didn’t take long for Steve to make him feel better though and he waited only enough time to get the frozen and fridge goods away before he made it up to him. Thoroughly.


	2. Going to a PTA meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve causes trouble - what else is new?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Never been to a PTA meeting, never will. Don't know what they are or what they do!

Steve watched his partner like a hawk. Danny had to go to something for Grace’s school that evening and he was acting as if he was going on a date. He had dressed in slacks and a shirt, far too smart for Steve’s liking, he had even debated on whether wearing a tie was appropriate! The Commander had stopped that in its tracks by grabbing the offending article and putting it somewhere high, dutifully ignoring his partner’s amused protestations. Danny had told him why he was making at least an attempt at being smart; it was the first one he’d gone to since he’d been arrested in front of Grace and her classmates, he felt he had something to prove. 

Steve had told him not to be so stupid, he had nothing to prove, but Danno was stubborn and still felt guilty about it, whatever he did or said to him. 

He still wasn’t happy though, standing by the front door of their house, arms folded across his chest, watching while Danny was fiddling with his phone, grabbing an iPad for something to make notes on (or to keeps his hands active), looking anxiously up at the top shelf where Steve had put his tie, or the clock on the wall to check the time. So much so Steve stepped forward and grabbed his arm, not hard, just to get his attention. “What is so special about a PTA meeting?” he asked him when Danny looked up at him with a frown. “You’ve been to them before, haven’t you?”

Danny nodded. “This one is different,” he told him, repeating himself. “I’ve not been since, and… and some kids have been rude to Gracie about what happened. I need to show my face, to make sure they all know that it’s over, I’m back.”

Steve’s frown deepened. “I didn’t know about that,” he told him and Danny could tell he was getting angry. “Who’s been saying what to Gracie?” He tried to sound nonchalant, but it never worked, especially about his step daughter. He loved her almost as much as Danny did, and showed it often, which made his partner smile and love him some more. 

“I don’t know,” Danny admitted to him, but relaxed a little. Steve had his back, always; he knew the big SEAL would beat the living crap out of anyone who upset their daughter, who upset Danny himself. “But I’m hoping this’ll stop any more rumours.”

Steve nodded, thought about it and pulled him a little closer so he could kiss his temple. “What’s this meeting about?” he asked him curiously. “Grace said something about fund raising?”

Danny nodded and checked the clock again. “Something about the school needing money for trips and equipment and stuff. Although why I don’t know, they charge enough money for teaching, I would have thought they’d have enough to paper the walls in gold leaf. And what are you doing?” he added as he watched his partner as he let him go and started to gather his own things. 

“Coming with you, Danno,” Steve told him as he walked over to their gun safe. “Who’s going to be there?”

“Probably a bunch of yummy mummies, all wealthy enough to pay for the entire school budget without even noticing the dip in their incomes,” his lover told him, still frowning at him. “You don’t need to go armed everywhere, you know. Even you can’t find trouble at a PTA meeting.”

Steve chose his ankle holster and gave Danny a sardonic smile. “Really?” he asked him, amused. “You’re saying that to me? You, who thinks I can’t go to the shrimp truck without getting into trouble? And besides, if you think I’m going unarmed into a load of women who’ll be watching you all the time, then you really need to think again.”

Danny shook his head and took the holster his lover handed him as well. “They’ll be watching you,” he disagreed. “You, Mister GQ model, will have them drooling all over you.”

Steve grinned at him and walked over, pulling him into a proper one armed hug this time. “I’ve only got eyes for you, Danno,” he told him and smacked a sloppy kiss to his forehead.

 

*********************************************************

 

The pair of them sat at the back of the hall, Danny had wanted to hide somewhere in the middle in the crowd but Steve had simply pulled him towards a couple of chairs at the back, but in the aisle, in plain view of everyone there, including those on the dais at the head of the chairs. He had sprawled in his, long legs stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankles, looking like the epitome of boredom. Everyone who entered the hall had to walk past them, had to see them, and Danny had tried to hide behind his partner in an uncharacteristic show of nervousness. Steve didn’t like it, one little bit so he made sure to make as much fuss as he could over him. He knew Danny still felt guilty over Reyes and Matt, he had no reason to, and this, the disapproving looks from other parents was just another thing to beat him down. So he watched people coming in, and if anyone looked at Danny with anything other than a welcoming smile he gave them a death glare promising endless torture. One guy walking in with his young wife on his arm almost tripped over his own feet in shock when he was on the receiving end of such a look – and he made sure the pair of them sat as far away from Steve as possible. His wife on the other hand grinned at Danny in welcome and laughed at her partner’s actions. 

Danny had relaxed the longer it went on, at first he was quiet, but then, the more he noticed, the more he loosened up a bit. By the time the hall had filled he was whispering a rant in Steve’s ear, accusing him of all manner of things, hands moving fast to accent his words, and all was right in Steve’s world. When Danny was feeling good enough to rant, then his job was done. 

Things got better as soon as the meeting started. The principle was running it, and Steve had some comments to make about her as well. He started small, whispering complaints in Danny’s ear about her strident voice, her not having to use a microphone because she was so loud, if she had a lover they’d have to warn the neighbours every time they had any nookie, just in case someone decided to call the cops about the screeching, that he was surprised everyone wasn’t hard of hearing after it etc.. Then, spotting that Danny was trying not to laugh at him, he got worse. He proved that even though Danny could use words to cut and batter, so could Steve. “What idiot came up with that idea?” about a teddy bear’s picnic. “Shame NASA stopped sending monkeys into space, he’d be a candidate,” about another idiot standing up and talking. “Piñatas, hah! Simpler just to cut them down and let the kids have it,” about another suggestion. 

After a particular cutting remark about using another strident woman with a stupid idea about cats, “we should use her as a target for shooting practice, it’ll be fun” Danny stuffed his fist in his mouth and tried not to howl with laughter. He obviously didn’t mask it enough, the principal heard him snicker and glared at them both.   
“Mister Williams, is there anything you’d like to add?” she asked archly. 

Danny, trying not to cry, shook his head but didn’t trust his voice. 

“How about verbally, so we can share with the class?” she asked him condescendingly, and Steve lost his grin. Instead he eyed her up and down and frowned at her again. 

“This is not a class,” he retorted sharply. “We are not your students, so we’d both be pleased if you would refrain from speaking to us like we are. We’re here to assist in fundraising. Although I should demand to get your accounts checked by our forensic accountants,” he added slyly. 

She frowned at him, taken aback at his response, not expecting anyone to challenge her in her own hall. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you obviously can’t control your own budget if you need more money,” he retorted, steel in his voice. “People pay enough fees for their kids to be here, you should have more than enough. Where’s all that money going? Your pockets?” he asked, mirroring what Danny had said earlier. 

The principal looked shocked at his words, but he had obviously struck a chord with others. The guy who had at first given Danny evils when he walked in was the first on his feet. “Yeah, what he said!” he shouted at her, waving an arm towards Steve. “We pay twenty grand a year and you want MORE money from us?”

Someone else stood up to second, and then third, then the previously calm meeting turned into a free for all as other people either stood up and added their opinions, or shouted from their seats. Danny looked around with wide eyes, and then at his partner, who shrugged at him. “I didn’t start it,” Steve mouthed at him, but then laughed quietly when Danny punched his arm.

“Yes you did!” the Detective replied. “You are so much trouble!”

“I can’t help it!” Steve protested half-heartedly. He looked around him at the ruckus he had started and then back to his lover. “Side Street?” he suggested. 

Danny snorted with a laugh and then nodded. “Let’s get out of here before HPD turn up,” he agreed, and the pair of them snuck out of the door behind them, out of sight of the shouting mob.


	3. Celebrating an anniversary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gains, not losses, are worth celebrating

Steve knew Danny had noted the date from the way he was looking at him from his office across the way with one of his concerned faces on. Five years. It had been five years since his Dad had been murdered, just over five years since Freddie had died. He realised his partner was going to worry about him; he wouldn’t be Danny if he didn’t. 

But Steve didn’t want to concentrate on his losses. He had, finally, grieved for his Dad after Wo Fat had taken him the last time, Danny had made sure of it, had stayed with him despite his own demands for the opposite. But he’d had to admit, to himself if no one else, that he felt better for it, like a weight had been lifted from him. Cliché, yes, but it was true none the less. And that was because of Danny, the man who had stayed with him through thick and thin, who Steve realised meant everything to him, only when a building literally smacked him around the head. It was meeting him the Commander wanted to celebrate, not losing others.

He’d planned this a few weeks earlier, Grace and Charlie involved as well, and it helped that today was a Friday and they had the entire weekend to themselves. He had arranged with the Governor that if anything happened he would call Chin, Grover and Kono first, before him or Danny, so they should have the weekend to themselves and the kids. Even Rachel was involved, allowing Steve to take Charlie and Grace that evening for the weekend, even though they had only started to have him over one night every weekend for about a month – and he hadn’t even had to threaten court, lawyers and suing her to get it. Made him wonder what she wanted out of it, but he didn’t want to think about that now. 

Instead he had better things to think about. He had organised it all, the ingredients for the meal he had planned were hidden away in the back of the cupboards, the fridge or the freezer, he’d been gathering items over the last few days, trying to avoid his partner’s nosiness. Now all he had to do was get out of here earlier that Danno. That might be a problem, but if Kono and Chin came through then he should be able to slip away while was pre-occupied by something of theirs. 

And as he had planned, they did exactly that at about 1450 hours, just the time he had wanted. He watched, grinning to himself, as both Chin and Kono rushed into Danny’s office at that time, just as the man himself was standing, probably getting up to come and see him. Steve waited for them both to get into position – Kono blocking Danny’s exit, Chin blocking his view of Steve’s own office – before he quickly logged off and grabbed his things. Using as much stealth as he could – Danny was not easily fooled after all – he managed to slip out of the office without his partner noticing. 

They had come in 2 cars this morning, he’d made some excuse about having to go and see the Governor first thing, so he got into his truck (with only a tiny plaintive glance at Danny’s Camaro shining there next to his) and quickly drove away towards Kahala. 

Grace and Charlie were already waiting for him, as soon as he had knocked on the door it was being yanked open from inside and Grace stood there, grinning at him. Charlie stood beside her, and as soon as he spotted Uncle Steve he leapt out onto the front step, his arms wide. “Uncle Steve!” he shouted and threw his arms around him when the big SEAL crouched in front of him. 

Steve was always moved when Danny’s kids did that, especially this one. His partner had shared everything about Charlie with Steve, telling him not to be such an idiot when he had suggested the father and son had done stuff on their own. Yet another thing he did to make sure Steve knew his place in their little family and something else he wanted to celebrate. 

He stood; Charlie pressed against him like a limpet and took the tiny suitcase Rachel held out to him with a smile. “Thanks, Rachel,” he said to her, and she smiled back and nodded. 

“You’d best not waste too much time,” she cautioned him while Grace gathered up her own bags. “Danny never was one to leave things alone. He’ll be home before you know it.”

Steve took her instruction to heart, he knew how difficult it was hiding surprises from Danny, and he gathered anything Grace couldn’t carry and hurried them back to the car. He quickly strapped Charlie into the seat in the back while Grace threw her stuff into the trunk and hurried around to the front passenger seat. They were off in moments, and Rachel stood by the door and watched Steve speed off with a rueful shake of her head. 

 

****************************************************************

 

Danny managed to get past the blockade that was the SuperTwins and headed for his car at about 5pm, two hours after he’d noticed Steve had slipped out. He was not a stupid man; he knew something was up, and that the other two were in on it. But whatever he had managed to get out of them was not enough to tell him what he really wanted to know i.e. what the hell was going on. So when he finally got home he was not a happy man. Worried about Steve, annoyed at being thwarted, and at the traffic too – almost everyone who had a vehicle seemed to be out and about that evening, annoying the hell out of him with their stupidly slow driving. He managed to get home eventually, so when he got home and no one answered his call, he was even more annoyed. He dumped his stuff on the couch in the living room and stomped his way into the kitchen, nothing, glanced in a couple of other rooms downstairs, nothing there either. Then upstairs and did the same thing, nothing there either. Steve’s truck was in the driveway so he knew the man was here, but when he glanced out of the window towards the beach he couldn’t see him in their chairs out there, or a towel on one of them indicating he was out for a swim. Something out there caught his eye though, a flicker of movement by the lanai that shouldn’t be there, and he stomped back down the stairs again to see what it was. 

As soon as he walked out onto the lanai he stopped in his tracks. He wasn’t usually struck speechless but that’s what this was. His mouth dropped open and he stared at what had been done to the back of the house. The lanai, normally cluttered with surf boards of various shapes and sizes, and other toys for the water or the beach had been completely tidied up. Tiki torches were places around and on the beach to light the area, and a large table had been moved from the dining room of the house out onto a relatively flat piece of beach. That had been set for dinner for 4 people, with candles in glass covers, what looked like crystal glasses and silverware and a table cloth and proper napkins folded into swans on each place setting. What made him stand and stare though was the three of family standing there waiting for him, all in their best clothes. Steve was in his dress blues, looking so handsome Danny could get lost in the vision of him for hours. Next to him was Grace, dressed in a lovely blue and silver dress that flowed around her ankles. She had ribbons in her hair, earrings on that he had bought her, the matching necklace that Steve had got her glittering around her neck. And the other side of Steve standing still, for once, in an absolutely gorgeous little suit, probably from Saville Row was his son, Charlie. He was grinning at his Dad, a bright healthy glow in his cheeks, his blond hair surprisingly calm and controlled. He even had a bow tie on around his neck and he wasn’t trying to pull it off…!

Danny found his voice when Steve grinned at him. “Welcome home, Danno,” the big SEAL said to him and took a step forward. “Happy Anniversary.”

Danny frowned at him. “But…” he began but failed. “I thought…” Failed again. “What the…?”

Grace took it upon herself to finish for him. “You met Uncle Steve this day five years ago, silly,” she told him, highly amused. “We’re celebrating. Dinner’s almost ready. You need to get some better clothes on.” She looked him up and down and her expression at his work clothes was so much Rachel it was almost funny. 

He was going to say something else, but Steve made shooing motions with his hands. “Go on,” he told him, as amused as their children. “Go. You’ve got about ten minutes before we start serving dinner. Get a move on.”

“Go get suit on!” Charlie also demanded. 

With the three of them ganging up on him, Danny had no choice. He turned on his heel and pelted it back up the stairs, flinging a loose salute at them all (polite one) as he went. 

 

*****************************************************************

 

Dinner was lovely; the four of them ate at the table on the sand in the warmth of the Hawaiian evening. Danny was floored when he was presented with a homemade lasagne that tasted just as nice as his grandmother’s, garlic bread and a salad, with a tiramisu for desert. When Grace popped inside for something Danny leant close to Steve. “This is gorgeous, Babe,” he told him and took a sip of the lovely wine. “Thank you. Really.”

Steve faced him and pressed a kiss to his temple. “My pleasure, Danny,” he told him. “If you hadn’t aimed your gun at me and shouted me down in my own garage I’d be a completely different person,” he explained. “I like this one, much better.”

Danny studied him for a moment before he replied. “So do I, Babe, so do I.”


	4. Dealing with an injury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't expect too much TLC from Danny

Danny hobbled over to the fridge and yanked on the door to get it open. He pulled out a couple of bottles of water, tucked them both in the crook of his elbow in between the cast and his chest, and then grabbed the plate of sandwiches Kono had left on one of the shelves earlier. That was going to be a bit difficult to manoeuvre but he concentrated on one thing at once. Using his free, undamaged arm he shut the fridge door then grabbed the plate with that hand, and then turned slowly, not jarring his knee, and made his way carefully back to the living room, the sofa and his partner stretched out on it. 

Steve moved his arm away from his eyes to blink up at him when Danny put the plate on the table next to him. “You didn’t make those, did you?” he asked him as he struggled to raise himself. 

“No,” Danny answered, and put the bottles down beside it. “You need some help sitting up?” he asked, and helped him out anyway. “Here,” he said to him and held out his intact arm. Steve grunted his thanks and used the strength Danny had in that arm to pull himself up into a sitting position, his legs still outstretched in front of him. Broken ribs were a bitch, but his broken leg was causing him more of a problem. “Okay?” Danny asked him and only moved to sit in the chair next to him when Steve nodded. “You better eat some of these,” he said firmly as he unwrapped the plate. “Kono brought them over, and I’m not going back into the kitchen to get something else in a hurry.”

Steve nodded and looked at the offering in front of them. “They smell quite good,” he agreed, grabbed one and bit into it, chewing thoughtfully. “Its good,” he told his lover, mouth full. 

Danny shook his head ruefully. “I didn’t need to see it, Babe,” he answered him and took his own sandwich. He was very grateful for their partners, Lou, Kono and Chin had been a heaven sent, they had been on the scene immediately, got them both out of the car and into ambulances, caught their bad guy of the day as well, and then, between them, making sure the pair of them were okay to go home from the hospital. The sandwiches from Kono – her mother probably – were gratefully received. Danny didn’t think he could stand on his wrenched knee long enough to cook at the moment, but he knew he was going to be mobile a lot quicker than his partner. Steve’s leg was in a full length cast, he’d been told it would take about six weeks for it to heal before it could come off. Which meant… 

“Troy called earlier,” he told him, watching Steve’s reactions. “He says he can get the car back to me in a week. And my Doc tells me I should be able to drive about then as well.” 

Steve glanced up at him and nodded as he grabbed another sandwich. “That’ll be good,” he agreed and took a bite. 

Danny nodded and waited for him to swallow before he continued. “You know what that means, don’t you?” he asked him slyly. He smiled when Steve shook his head, and took pity on him; he was taking the good painkillers after all. “That means if you need to get anywhere, you’re going to have to ask me nicely to drive you there.”

Steve looked up at him slowly and stared at him, sandwich held in one hand. “Err, no,” he said slowly. “I can drive.”

Danny snorted with laughter. “How?” he asked him, and indicated to his leg with a raised eyebrow. “By getting your truck retrofitted for hand controls? Face it, Army-boy. I’m going to be driving my own car for the foreseeable future. And you are going to have to like it.”

Steve stared at him for a few moments and then reached for his water bottle. He slowly unscrewed the top, and studied it in his hand for a few moments. Before he attempted to flick some of the contents on his partner. “It’s NAVY Danno, I was in the NAVY!”


	5. Dealing with insomnia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neither like sleeping without the other...

Danny hated getting a cold, especially in a hot hellhole like this, but he what he hated worse was not being able to sleep with it. The night cold remedy he had taken obviously wasn’t working, so much so he ended up staring at the ceiling in the spare bedroom trying not to drown in snot because his throat was so dry and sore it was difficult to swallow. He was tired, so tired, he’d been working all day, arguing with lawyers in court, his head was pounding, but he couldn’t take anything more because he was already on the cusp of overdosing on cold remedies. He’d been moving, twisting and turning in their bed so much he’d woken Steve, who was as tired, so he’d waited until his lover had gone back to sleep and moved to another bedroom in the vain hope of not disturbing him further. 

He was about to give up on sleep altogether and get a book but as he sat up and sniffed again the door to the room was pushed open from the outside. He looked up and was not surprised to see his SEAL standing in the doorway, outlined by the lamp from their own bedroom. “Why’d you move, Danno?” the Commander asked him, his voice showing exactly how tired he was. “You okay?”

“Can’t sleep, didn’t want to wake you,” Danny answered him and had to smile ruefully when his big bad SuperSEAL rubbed his eyes with his knuckles, just like Charlie did. 

“Can’t sleep without you, Danno,” he told him which gave the Detective an unpleasant flutter in his chest. “Come back to bed, I’ve got some stuff that might help.”  
Danny would normally complain about that, no doubt it was something unpronounceable from somewhere he didn’t want to know, but at this point he was desperate for some sleep. And he didn’t like sleeping without his lover any more either, he’d rather be close to him, not just because his presence was so reassuring, it also meant that he could be there with him if Steve had a nightmare too. “Okay,” he agreed and stood. 

Steve, obviously not wanting to take any chances, grabbed his arm and pulled him back to their bedroom with him. He waited and watched as Danny sat back on bed before he let him go and rummaged around in the cupboard beside the bed on Steve’s side, normally locked (where he’d moved his supplies after Danny had explained to him, loudly, why the cabinet in the bathroom is the absolute worst place to store medicines) and pulled out a white plastic jar with a small label on it. As he had thought Danny couldn’t read the printing on it, but if it worked, he didn’t care what it was. He waited while Steve walked over to him again and just sat still while his partner dug into the jar and brought out some white gloop on his fingers. It smelled vaguely of menthol with some other stuff in it, and it was cooling when Steve started to rub it into Danny’s shoulders and chest. Normally his lover’s hands all over him would make Danny horny for him, but not tonight. Now it was soothing, his skin tingled where Steve smoothed the mixture, and the smell, not overpowering, was strong enough to start seeping through the snot in his blocked nostrils. And when his lover pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead and then started to rub the stuff into the same place, he could feel it working on his headache too.

“Better?” the bigger man asked when he had finished. He was looking down at Danny with a question on his face, and he smiled when the Detective nodded. 

“Much,” he agreed. “Thanks, Love.”

“No problem, Babe,” Steve answered. “Now, get back to bed. We both need to sleep.” 

Danny didn’t think it would work that well but he was tired enough to try it. He climbed back into bed and took his normal position – on his front with his arms around his pillow and waited for Steve to take his normal position: curled around him, arms around his chest, face on his shoulder. He got comfortable, thought he was going to be comfortable enough for the rest of the night, Steve was already falling back to sleep, he could hear his breathing change, feel him relax against him and that would see him through the night. 

He closed his eyes, relaxed as well, and was very surprised that the sun was shining through the open window when he opened his eyes next. Whatever was in that stuff seemed to work for Steve as well, the big man was still wrapped around him like a limpet and he only moved when Danny did. 

“Morning, Danno,” Steve croaked and pressed a kiss to the nape of his neck. “Better?”

Danny thought about it for a moment before he shifted and turned on his back to see his benefactor. “Pretty good,” he admitted. “Do I want to know what was in that stuff?” he asked him. 

Steve, a little disgruntled at being moved from his most comfortable spot, shook his head and sprawled across him again. “Nope,” he assured him and ran his fingers through the blond hair on Danny’s abdomen. “Just go with it.”

Danny opened his mouth to argue but then thought better of it. Instead he embraced his lover and buried a hand in his hair, using his fingers to rub his scalp. He could go with it if it meant he had a decent night’s sleep and a lazy morning with Steve purring on his chest.


	6. Getting wet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny's like a cat... he really doesn't like getting wet!

Steve was having a really hard time holding it in, a really hard time insomuch as he had to stuff his fist in his mouth to stop from laughing his ass off as he watched. It wasn’t even his fault although he was sure Danno would blame him for it anyway. This though, this was just priceless. Danno stood there, in the middle of his office, completely soaked, covered from head to foot in sparkling water. He was drenched; he had a virtually empty 2-litre bottle in one hand, the screw lid in the other and an expression of shocked horror on his face. 

Kono, who’d brought him the bottle, was standing at the doorway of his office, stuck in a mixture of horror and hilarity. It didn’t take long for the shocked expression on her face to change to one of intense amusement, and then she couldn’t hold it in any longer. Her laughter echoed through the offices, she had to lean against the doorframe to hold herself up, and then ended up supporting herself with her hands on her knees because she was laughing so much. 

Steve glanced across at Chin’s office to see what he was doing, only to find him sitting in his chair, his head thrown back, virtually howling with laughter, even as he looked Chin wiped the tears from his face. 

Which was enough for Steve. He couldn’t hold it in any longer, just looking at the rest of his team and the look of outrage at their reactions on Danny’s face was enough. He started to laugh, and laugh, and laugh, especially when Danny found his voice. 

“I’m going to get you back for this, Kalakaua!” Danny shouted at her as he put down the bottle on to part of his desk that wasn’t wet. Which wasn’t much to be honest. He pulled at his shirt, wet and stuck to his chest, and then looked down at his pants, that were as soaked and grumbled to himself. He threw her an evil look; them rummaged through his desk for a set of spare clothes he kept in the bottom drawer of his desk. It looked to Steve as if he was going to change there and then. In front of Kono. 

The Commander quickly strode out of his own office into Danny’s and pulled Kono out of his way, and out of the office. “Go get some paper towels or something,” he told her, and she grinned at him and nodded and scampered off. “You need some help, Danno?” he asked as his partner started to unbutton his saturated shirt.   
“No,” the man in question grumbled at him. “I can manage, thank you Commander.” 

Steve lost his smile at that, Danny didn’t bring the ‘Commander’ out very often and it normally did not bode well for the guy who owned that title. “This isn’t my fault, Danny,” he told him firmly. “It’s just an accident. Kono just ran up the stairs holding the bottle and it got shaken up. That’s all. Unfortunately for you it just happened to be you that opened it. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t be laughing your ass off if it was me, or Kono, Chin or Lou who opened it. Look at Chin,” he added, looking over to the man in question who was still incapable of anything because he was laughing so hard. “How long has it been since he’s laughed like that, huh? You did that Danny, you and some water.”

Danny did what he suggested and looked at his team member. As he watched Chin flopped forward onto his desk, rested his head on his crossed arms and just shook with laughter. Danny found himself smiling as he watched, and nodded. “Okay, okay, you’re right,” he conceded and looked over at his partner. “Are you going to help me change, or what?” he asked him. 

Steve grinned and nodded. “Sure, any time, D, any time.”


	7. Family time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BBQ

Steve stood by the grill in his back yard and watched his extended family interact. Adam, Chin and Jerry were laughing over something one of them had said, Kono and Grace were in the surf, both sitting on the same board, floating just off shore, thick as thieves. Danny was keeping an eye on them from his chair on the lanai with Charlie in his lap, a book in one hand, reading from with his youngest child. Max and Sabrina were cuddled up in the hammock, Lou and his wife were in some more chairs near by and Mary was sitting in his own chair, next to Danny with Joanie asleep in her lap. 

His family were around him, people he never thought he’d be able to gather around him when he’d arrived here five years ago. Steve didn’t recognise the man he’d been when he stepped foot on Hawaii after Hesse had killed his father; he had been cold, closed, violent then, a loner in a million people making sure none of them would get to him. He’d had a mission, one of revenge, to kill Hesse and get off Hawaii as soon as he could. 

He hadn’t counted on a loud mouthed detective who’d aimed his gun at him for violating his crime scene, and then punched him for being an asshole to him in front of HPD officers, all of which had been treating said detective like crap because he was from the mainland. Danny had wormed his way in under his skin, burrowed his way through shields he’d thought he’d reinforced with steel. 

And now family surrounded him, he had a lover he shared his life with, someone who provided endless love and support, as well as so much more; he had stepchildren he never thought he could have. He was also much closer to his sister than he could ever had dreamt of, had a gorgeous niece he loved dearly, and some very good friends. He could never thank these people enough for what they’d done for him, never. Yes, there were a couple of people missing, but …

“Hey, McG!” Danny suddenly shouted across at him, making him jump. “Are you burning the steaks or what?”

Steve looked down at the grill in front of him and quickly started turning the slabs of meat over. “No!” he shouted back. 

Danny handed Charlie over to Mary with a smile and a couple of quiet words and made his way over to his lover. He pressed himself against him and looked around him to the grill. “They look great, Babe,” he assured him. “Are you okay?” he asked, looking up at him. “Really?”

Steve nodded with a smile and leant down to kiss him quickly. “Fine, D,” he assured him. “Just thinking about how lucky I am.”

Danno smiled at him and nodded. “Yeah, you are lucky. You’ve got me after all.”

Steve agreed and hugged him close with his free arm. “Yep, I have,” he answered him, and pressed a kiss to his temple.

Danny hugged him back. “We’d better get some food out soon,” he said after a few moments of quiet. “The ravening masses will be on us in a few minutes.”

Steve made agreeing noises in the back of his throat but he held onto his partner for a few moments longer, just a few more.


	8. Doing research

Danny read the webpage with interest and kept looking up over the screen to make sure he wasn’t going to be disturbed. He was at work; he’d finished his paperwork, sorted out Steve’s and helped Kono with hers as well. So now he was using the free time he had before he could head out checking the Internet. 

The last time he and Steve had tried to go away for a few days they had ended up being called back from Kauai by the Governor himself for some gun runners in a feud with some human traffickers, all vying for turf on Hawaii. It had taken a week to solve and deal with them all, the time they’d booked off. 

They both really needed a vacation though, Kono was just due back from hers, Chin had had a week off before her, Grover had been back only a week as well, so they’d been working doubly hard for weeks. And this one seemed to be the perfect thing to do. An island in the North Atlantic Ocean with glaciers, volcanoes and an attractive ring road was an inviting prospect – and somewhere the Governor of Hawaii couldn’t contact them on. Now all he had to do was plan the time off, decide whether to let Steve in on the surprise, hire the car, book the time off with the Governor, and pay for it.

No trouble at all. 

He jotted down some details in his notepad he kept locked in his desk, followed a few links and found some prices and did a quick calculation in his head. It was doable, and it should be good. And far, far away from home and contact with the Governor. 

 

**********************************************************************

 

Steve watched his partner leave his office and walk into his. He’d been watching him covertly for about half an hour, he seemed to be concentrating on something but from the expression on his face it wasn’t work, he didn’t normally have that smile on his face for work. He smiled up at his partner when he walked in and overtly looked him up and down with a grin.

Danny grinned back. “I’m out of here, SuperSEAL,” he told him fondly. “It’s time to pick up Grace. Chicken and pasta okay for dinner?” 

Steve nodded, stood and strode over to him. “Sounds great,” he assured him and dropped a kiss on his mouth. Danny kissed him back and then patted his arm when he pulled away. 

“See you at home, don’t stay too late,” the Detective told him, and walked out, waving his goodbyes to the other three team members. 

Steve waited for him to leave completely before he quickly hotfooted it into his partner’s office, ignoring the looks he was getting from Lou. Danno had logged off but Steve knew his password, it wasn’t difficult to crack after all. Unfortunately his partner must have realised what he was going to do, he’d cleared his browser history, and had done it thoroughly too. He was getting better; he must have been taking lessons from Chin, who he could see from the corner of his eye, smirking at him.


	9. Getting lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is always some sort of predator roaming in the jungle

Danny was a self-confessed people watcher; he could study them for hours watching the minutiae of expression, body language etc. for the clues they could tell him. He could read most people, tell if they were lying or not, if they were scared, happy, upset, angry. It was a skill he had honed with years of practice, a skill he was proud of, and a skill he was using right now. 

Steve right now was looking confused and bewildered. He was looking around their surroundings with a frown on his face, trying to find his way out of this mess of jungle … stuff. The blood drying on the side of his face from the wound just above his ear gave him a more desperate look, the way his eyes darted from one tree to another, to the overcast sky above them, the rocky path behind, added credence to that, and Danny was not reassured. “Steve?” he called. “Steve! Are you okay? Steve! Look at me,” he asked. “Steve.”

The man in question stumbled over to him, arm outstretched, and he laid a hand on Danny’s shoulder when he got close enough. “You okay, Danno?” he asked him worriedly, blinking at him. 

Danny looked down at himself to see his arm strapped against his chest with what was left of the backpack he had been wearing – Steve had cut it into strips to support the break caused when the pair of them had leapt off the ridge to save their own lives. Danny had no regrets; he’d grabbed Steve with his other arm and pulled him down with him, curled around him as they bounced down the hillside. Steve had already been injured, whomever the shooters were they were not aiming to maim, it was only fortuitous that they’d both spotted them at the right time before walking into a shitstorm of epic proportions. Even so one of them had tried to blow Steve’s head off his shoulders, almost succeeding. 

Now they had to get away, they were being chased but Steve …

“I’m okay, Steve,” his lover assured him from where he was sitting on a log. He reached up with his undamaged hand to gently cup his Commander’s cheek. “What about you?” he asked. “Are you okay? How’s your head?”

They’d had this discussion a long time ago, and it seemed Steve remembered. “Hurts,” he admitted and leant into Danny’s touch. “I don’t know where we are.”

Danny nodded. “Okay,” he said, for something to say while he thought. He used his hand to pull Steve around for a quick reassuring kiss. “I love you, you’re my SuperSEAL, if anyone can get us out of here, it’s you.” He smiled at him and kissed his mouth again. “We just need to figure out which direction to go in. Do you still have your phone?”

Steve rummaged through his many pockets and pulled out his phone. He looked at it and shook his head. “No signal,” he told him. “And I didn’t bring a sat phone, we weren’t supposed to be here.” He looked around and lost his connection with Danny for a moment but then he grabbed his partner’s hand in one of his own and kept hold of that. “We could go up, out of these trees. We could get a signal from nearer the top, maybe call the others.”

Danny nodded and squeezed his hand. “There’s my Commander McGQ,” he said to him with a grin. “Help me up, let’s get this show on the road.”

Steve did as he said and pulled him up to his feet with the hand he still held. “Are you sure you’re okay to go? I can go on my own, come back for you?”

Danny shook his head. “I’m your back up, Babe,” he answered him. “I’m not going anywhere without you. Let’s go.”

Steve blessed him with one of his brightest, widest smiles, and pulled him close. “Lead on, Danno,” he told him, and between them they made their way, stumbling sometimes, up the hill to the promised land of signal and rescue.


	10. Getting with the Governor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not all meetings with the Governor are bad

Steve was nervous and not even trying to hide it. He checked his dress blues again, brushing at perceived dust on his sleeves, making sure his fruit salad was present and correct, and straight, checking his shoes were shiny enough, and he was going to make sure his cuff links were okay before Mary laughed and grabbed his hand. “Stop!” she said to him and squeezed his hand. “You look perfect,” she assured him. 

“You sure?” he asked her, sounding so unsure she let go of his hand to grasp his face in both hands.

“You look perfect,” she told him firmly. “He will be blown away. Everything is arranged, you’ll be perfect, Steve. Really. Now, breathe, picture the look on his face when he sees you there. He will be speechless.”

He smiled at her, this one was genuine. “That’ll be a first,” he told her, and she laughed and patted his cheek with a hand. 

“I’ll keep that one in check for when I want something from you,” she cautioned him. “Now, are you ready, Lieutenant Commander McGarrett?”

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, and then nodded. “I am,” he assured her. “Are they?” 

“One moment.” Mary let him go and quickly hoofed over to the door of the anteroom they were in. She opened it only enough to stick her head through and spotted her opposite number doing exactly the same thing from a doorway diagonally opposite her. She shoved her hand through the doorway and gave Grace a thumbs up. She replied in kind and nodded. “They’re ready,” she told her brother and turned back to face him. “Come on, let’s stun him into silence.”

Steve nodded, placed his lid on his head and held out his arm for his best woman. “Lead me up the aisle,” he told her. 

She grinned and they walked out of the anteroom in to the main room together. Steve had been in any number of warzones, fought for his life on too many occasions, but walking down that short gap between chairs in a room in the palace was one of the most nerve-wracking things he had done. Danny was making his own way to the head of the space, just in front of the Governor’s desk, Grace also leaning on his arm, and he looked so, so sexy. He was dressed in his police uniform, a HPD one he’d finally gotten, his buttons and badge polished and shiny, one of his commendation medals on his chest, his new lieutenant stripes on his arms. He’d done something else with his hair, it wasn’t as tamed and slicked back as usual, almost as if someone had ruffled it up a bit – which was exactly as Steve liked it. 

They both got to the pre-arranged spot at the same time and Steve turned to face him, smiling at him wide enough he thought his face might split with it. His nervousness had gone, replaced with all encompassing happiness that they’d got there, over-awed that Danny had said yes, that this guy, the best person, father, cop he’d ever met, had said yes to him. He bent close to Danny and whispered in his ear. “I love you so fucking much, Danno.” 

Danny grinned up at him and pressed a kiss to Steve’s mouth. “Not as much as I love you, Steven,” he answered him. 

Governor Denning, standing in front of them with a big grin on his face, cleared his throat suggestively. “We have things to do before you two can get down to business,” he told them, obviously amused. “Shall we?”

Both men turned to face him with matching contrite expressions on their faces. Steve stood to attention, took his lid off and handed it to Mary who took it and stepped back to their side of the room. Grace squeezed her father’s elbow and also stepped back, and everyone, family and friends, faced the Governor. 

Who smiled, opened the book in his hands and began to speak. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join these men in matrimony….”


	11. Blind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve hadn't realised how much Danny was hurting

Steve hadn’t noticed. 

In the weeks, months since they had come back from Colombia the first time, he’d not noticed how guilty Danny felt about Reyes, about shooting the man that had killed his brother and stuffed him into a barrel. Steve didn’t really understand it, he’d known Danny had very strong opinion of what justice meant, known how much he loved the law, but the man had murdered his brother. Steve himself would have gone to the ends of the earth to kill Reyes if he’d done that to Mary, hell, he’d been prepared to tear Hawaii apart to find Hesse after he had killed his Dad, Danny had helped him do that. 

But he’d been blind to it, not actually seeing how his partner, his lover, had felt about it. He knew he’d been grieving, whatever Matthew had done Danny had loved him very much; he was still his little brother. But Steve hadn’t realised just how bad his lover, his partner in life felt about pulling the trigger and ending someone’s life. Yes, he’d done it before, they all had in the line of their job, it was an unfortunate part of their job that to protect themselves and others they sometimes had to end lives. Danny wasn’t a killer though, he always regretted pulling the trigger on any gun he had to use, always second guessed his actions, went over his reports two or three times to make sure he’d had no choice. But he’d been horrified, shocked, grief-stricken and so, SO angry in that basement, so angry that shooting the man in the face was the least of what Steve had expected him to do. 

Steve had thought his Danny was beginning to recover from his grief, he’d been very quiet since he’d come back from Jersey after burying Matt, but they had been busy at work, and what with his own issues after Wo Fat had taken him he had to admit he’d be pre-occupied. He felt guilty about that as well, Danny had been his rock after that, he’d found him, comforted him, been with him during all of his hospital stay, and then taken care of him when he’d been allowed to go home. And all that time Steve had been blind to the very real struggles Danny was going through, alone and silently. 

So he sat, watched and worried as Danny slept in their bed, bruised and battered but very much alive, and hoped the man that had saved Steve from so many things, let him look after him now, let him save him this time. He reached over and took hold of one of Danny’s smaller hands in his own and kissed the bruised and cut knuckles. “It’s my turn to protect you,” he promised him quietly, trying not to wake him. “Whether you like it or not.”


	12. Staring

Danny watched with a contented smile on his face as Steve, his very own big marshmallow, was lying on the beach in front of their house with Grace pressed up next to him in between them both and Charlie tucked in his lap. The three of them were staring, entranced by the vista above them but Danny found himself watching the other three instead. The moon was out but the other side of the house, the stars were getting bright this side of the house and Steve was pointing the different ones out to the kids. They were waiting for the International Space Station to come past; the sun had set a few minutes ago, which was the best time to see it. Steve had been tracking it on an app he’d downloaded after he and Charlie had been glued to a recent launch where a Brit had been sent to the station. Now they were staring up at the sky in anticipation of it. 

“Is it here yet?” Charlie asked quietly. 

“A few moments yet,” the Commander told him, his eyes glued to the sky. “Just wait a few more moments.”

Danny was going to remind his partner, his husband that a four year old didn’t really wait a few more moments when they were that excited, but Charlie did seem to settle down. 

And then, and then Steve’s arm shot up into the sky in the east and he pointed to something moving fast across the sky. “Look, there it is!” he told them, and the kids, and Danny, found themselves staring up into the sky. They all followed Steve’s finger and stared at the bright light that moved quickly across the vista above them, faster than any plane, no flashing lights on it, and it didn’t fade, unlike a meteor. 

It was just a bright, fast moving light, but they were all entranced, mainly of because of what it actually was. A huge machine with people in it, orbiting the planet at massive speeds, something that made space science interesting for the kids with them. The four of them stared at the bright light until it disappeared out of their view, and Danny then turned back to his family. They other three were still entranced, and while the kids still stared at the sky Steve turned to face his lover. He smiled, a soft one that lightened his whole face, one Danny couldn’t stop returning in kind. “That was excellent, Love,” he told the SEAL. 

Steve nodded. “It was, wasn’t it?” he commented quietly. “I’m good like this.”

Danny huffed a laugh. “You keep thinking that, SuperSEAL,” he told him fondly and then turned back to the sky. “Tell us which one that is,” he added, pointing to another star in the sky. “Show us who super you really are.”

Steve’s laugh was like quiet thunder miles away – deep and reassuring. “Okay then,” he answered, and did.


	13. In love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Puppy love!

Steve wanted to bang his head on his desk several times when he looked out into the main area of the office. His husband was staring at the little ball of fluff Kono had brought in with her, and he knew even without hearing what she was saying that he had just got a new pet. The dog, what looked like a small cocker spaniel, was definitely at home in Danny’s arms and the little creature sealed the deal with a soft tongue, licking at Danny’s nose. His normally stoic partner, easily being able to bypass both his and his kids’ puppy dog eyes, was grinning like a loon at the puppy, who was wagging his tail, as much as he could held tightly by the other man.

Steve knew Danny missed having a dog, ever since he’d lost his in the divorce and move to Hawaii, and then the one he’d adopted from the ICE agent moving to Las Vegas with Stan. So, as he forced himself to his feet and out into the fray, he knew he’d already caved. 

His partner just looked at him with his own killer set of puppy eyes. “Hi, meet Bilbo,” Danny greeted him, and used a hand to make the dog wave a paw at him. “Bilbo, meet Daddy.”

“I take it we’ve already adopted the dog then,” Steve commented as he watched his lover, HIS lover; plant a sloppy kiss on the top of the dog’s head. 

Danny grinned at him and nodded. “He’s not got a home, Steve,” he told him, and nuzzled the puppy. “We can’t let him go homeless, can we?”

Steve sighed and looked at Kono with an accusing expression on his face. “Why are you and Adam not taking him in?” he asked her. “That house is big enough, surely.”

She had the good grace to look contrite. “Adam’s allergic,” she explained to him. “The dog is from a bust a couple of days okay from Pua. He can’t take him in either, he’s got cats.”

“Cats are cool, I want cats,” Steve told her firmly, ignoring his lover and the dog standing next to him with great force of will, even if he did say so himself. 

“You can have cats with Bilbo,” Kono protested with a smile – she knew him well as well. “Pua’s cats are older and much more territorial. He said they almost scratched his nose off when he tried to introduce them.”

“He’s got stitches and everything, Steve,” Danny tried to tell him. “Look.”

He didn’t, just looked at Kono, even though it was difficult for him. He loved looking at Danny, the smaller guy was everything, and he could watch him all day – the expressions on his face, the way he spoke with his hands and his entire body, and that body, wow. He really didn’t want to look at him right now, he just wanted to protest, even knowing it was a lost cause. “What’s going to happen to the dog it we don’t take him in?” he asked instead, crossing his arms over his chest. 

Kono lost her smile and tried her own set of puppy eyes. “He’ll have to go to a pound,” she explained. “Most people won’t take in a dog from a crime scene, however cute he is. They won’t keep him forever; he’ll have to be put to sleep if no one will take him in. And it’s not his fault, he didn’t ask to be bought by a small time thug.”

“No, neither did I,” Steve answered her, but sighed to himself anyway. He couldn’t not look at Danny, he hated not laying eyes on him for more than a minute at a time anyway, so he turned and glanced at the pair of them. And caved. Danny was still holding the pup, this time so they were both facing Steve, and the human was grinning at him, even looked like the dog was too. 

“I think Bilbo’s a great name for a dog,” Danny told him. “Don’t you? And the kids will love him.”

Steve threw his hands up in the air in a very Danny-esque move. “Fine!” he snapped half-heartedly. “We can keep the dog. If it dumps in my office, you can clean it up.” With that he walked away, back into his office and shut the door behind him. He’d wanted pets, yes, but he had wanted it to be his and Danny’s decision about what to get, and when, not have it forced on him. He laid his hands on his desk and his forehead on top of them, and tried not to be upset about it. 

 

****************************************************************************

 

Kono did feel sorry for forcing the issue with the dog on her boss. He had been silent about it all week, not joining in when Danny spoke about him, not having anything to say about the puppy at all. He did allow Danny to bring him into work during the week, he was new to them both and neither of them wanted to leave him alone all day in the house, especially since they wanted a home to go home too after a hard day’s work. So on the Saturday after handing the pup over she and Adam drove over to the house with a gift of dog stuff and an expensive bottle of whiskey she’d found out Steve liked. Both men were there, she knew that, so was not surprised when Adam drove to the house and parked next to Danny’s Camaro the big Silverado was there too. 

They got no reply from knocking on the front door so they wandered around the back of the house, and interrupted a scene. Danny was on the lanai with Grace and Charlie and they were all very happy to see them, greeting them both. When she told him why they were there: “I feel a little guilty about the dog,” he showed her the other half of their small family. 

Steve and Bilbo were in the hammock slung between two trees near the water. Both were engrossed with each other, Steve on his back with Bilbo curled on top of him. It looked like they were both dozing, and as they watched Bilbo opened his eyes, flapped his tail at them and moved just a little bit closer to the SEAL. He ended up under Steve’s chin; paws on his neck, and Steve tightened his arm around the dog’s butt to hug him close. 

“They like each other then,” Adam commented, amused as he watched. 

Danny nodded. “Inseparable,” he agreed fondly. “Whatever he might tell you to the contrary. It was love at second sight. The moment we got home they were both all over each other and haven’t been apart since. I’m quite jealous actually. We were just thinking about brunch,” he added after a moment when he watched the pair of them sleep. “You’re very welcome to stay.”

The pair of them looked at each other for a moment before Kono nodded. “That will be great, Danny,” she agreed, and smiled at them. “What do you need us to do?”


	14. In peril

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They can't even get to work without getting onto trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some swearing in this one

“Shit!” Steve shouted as he fought with the steering wheel of his truck. They were out in that today instead of the Camaro, Danny’s car needed some work doing after their last misadventure and he was not in a good mood about it. But neither had expected this – they were just on their way to the office when out of nowhere someone rammed them. 

“Not something I want to hear you say, Steven!” Danny replied, his voice strained. He was hanging on to the ‘Oh shit’ handle with one hand, trying to use his phone with the other, and looked up as he finally managed to get someone on the phone. 

It was Lou, and he sounded surprised to hear from them. “If you’re asking for what coffee I want, you should…” he began but Danny cut him off. 

“We’ve been rammed, Grover!” he shouted, and let go of the handle to grab his gun. “I don’t know why, someone Steve probably pissed off. There are at least two vehicles, one pick up that has front-end damage, another SUV. They’re…” He was going to carry on but the glass in his window suddenly shattered. “Shit!” he cursed as he ducked and tried to defend himself from the shards of glass coming his way at speed. “What the…?”

“Danny?!” Steve shouted as he wrenched the steering wheel and took the huge truck around a sharp corner. “You okay? Danny?”

It took a moment; Danny shook glass out of his hair and did not take the time to pat himself down. Instead he put the phone in the cradle on the dash and turned to face his partner. “I don’t like being shot at, Steve,” he told him firmly and flicked the safety off his gun. “Especially before my first coffee of the day. Get us to the Palace, I’m going to make those…. Idiots realise how stupid they are.”

Steve grinned at him and let go of the steering wheel with one hand to grab his own gun and hand it over to his partner. “Sir, yes sir,” he told him, and concentrated on the driving. “Grover, get the team suited up. We’re heading to the Palace and we’re coming in hot.”

Anything the other man was going to say was drowned out by Danny’s shots. He had shifted in his seat so he could see and aim properly behind them, and aiming carefully. He had no idea who the people were, but as soon as one of the drivers skidded their vehicle around the corner behind them, he was shooting. He was not wasting ammo; they were not back at the Palace yet, aiming first at the driver, then the tyres. His first shot shattered the windshield, making the driver yank hard on the steering wheel to dodge out of the way, leaving the passenger, also leaning out of the window trying to shoot again at the truck, right in the line of fire. Danny grinned when his next shot hit home, he saw the guy drop his own automatic weapon and clutch his arm but the Detective didn’t waste time crowing. Instead he aimed again, this time for the tyre, and it took a couple of shots to get that. Steve grinned himself as he saw the SUV shudder and flip in the rear view as the tyre blew. 

Danny 1, bad guys 0. 

The other vehicle soon took its place though, but it was damaged from being used to broadside his own truck – the front grill buckled and twisted, perilously close to the tyres. They could use that to their advantage if they needed it, but at the moment Danny’s shooting was keeping them at bay. 

And then the bad guys began shooting back. 

“Shit!” Danny shouted again as he ducked back into the relative safety of the truck. “Where are we?” he asked his partner. 

Steve looked around as he dodged other cars on the road they were on, and it was because of that he spotted the third vehicle coming their way, on their side of the road, with enough time to dodge a head on collision. “I don’t… fuck!” he shouted and ended up using some driving skills he’d learnt in Afghanistan. “Where are they coming from?” he asked and had to take a detour up a smaller side street. “Who the hell are they?”

Danny glanced at him before he turned back to the fray behind them. “Grover! Tag number Golf Kilo Papa one six four, stupid brown Ford SUV!” he shouted down the phone, and started shooting again. “Where the hell is the cavalry?!”

“I have no idea,” Steve replied grimly. He checked where they were, noted the street name and took the next right. “Keep shooting, Danny, we need to lose them for just a couple of minutes.”

“I don’t need you to tell me that!” Danny retorted, and did what he could. He was making progress, the vehicle that had tried to ram them head first off the road had been turned round and the driver was even now chasing after them at speed, but not making any move to dodge. So the Detective swapped to Steve’s gun and used the sights to line up carefully and fired. 

The three shooters weren’t going anywhere when their driver ended up splattered all over the passenger behind him. Danny watched while one of them tried to reach for the steering wheel but missed, and the car ended up head first into a building. He winced when it burst into flames; he hated to take life, whoever the person was even if they were trying to kill them. But he couldn’t take too long to grieve; he didn’t even know how many were dead, because the driver of the pick up was still behind them. “There’s one more on our trail,” he told his partner, who nodded and quickly took the truck around the next left. 

“I just need a couple of minutes,” Steve told him. “We’ll be there in a couple of minutes.”

Danny looked around him to check where they were and frowned at him before he turned back to the job in hand. He had no idea where they were, somewhere in the middle of Pearl City headed towards a residential area, and he knew Steve knew that. “You know there’s going to be kids about, dogs and cats etc.,” he added just in case. 

Steve nodded. “Yep,” he growled and stepped on the gas. 

They managed to keep the pick up behind, or the driver had enough sense to keep a safer distance back than the other two. It gave Steve enough of a leeway to get ahead, and he obviously knew these streets better than Danny did. He made it around the next corner before they were spotted, left at the next junction, and he looked around quickly. “Here, Danny, can you see the truck?” he asked, and when Danny told him no, he drove the truck to a driveway, a set of gates in front of them. “Open the gate, we can hide in there.” 

Danny glared at him. “I’m not your man servant, McGarrett,” he complained but was already unlatching his seat belt to do exactly as he’d been told. 

Steve smiled at him as he leapt out of the truck and scurried over to the gates. They were unlocked and he quickly pulled one open, and Steve waited only until it was open wide enough for him to get the truck through. Danny waited for the vehicle to be in the space and then quickly shut the gate again before he sprinted back over to the truck. He climbed back in, pulling the door shut behind him and looked over at his partner. “We’re safe here?” he asked him and looked around them. They’d ended up in what looked like a small mechanic’s yard with a house at one end. There were a couple of garages the other side of the packed earth and the SEAL drove his truck into one of them. It was out of view of the main road and he turned off the ignition and turned to look at his partner. “We’re okay here,” he assured him. “One of Kamekona’s many cousins. Are you okay, Danny? Not cut from glass? Good shooting by the way.”

“Thanks,” his partner said to him and he checked himself over. He grabbed the phone and pressed the speaker button. “Grover, you still there?” he asked. 

“Yes,” their team member shouted back. “We’ve found the two vehicles you destroyed. Did you lose the other one?” 

“I think so,” Danny replied. “And we have no idea what the hell that was.”

Steve grinned at him, calming down now they were out of the line of fire. “The game’s afoot,” he said to them both. 

Lou groaned, Danny shook his head. “You did not just say that,” he complained and slapped him on the chest. “Seriously.”

“I’ve always wanted to say that,” Steve replied, highly amused. “Always.”

Danny rolled his eyes. "I really need some coffee," he complained to anyone who would listen. "Really."


	15. Visiting another country

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the Navy, Danno!

This wasn’t the first time Danny had stepped foot in the UK, his ex wife’s mother lived here after all, but it was the first time he’d done so with his partner in tow. It wasn’t Steve’s first time either, he’d passed through once on his way to some classified place from yet another classified place but had only stayed a day or two. Danny had spent a couple of weeks here, one in London, the other in Manchester – which had surprised him, not being as bad as he had imagined. He hadn’t imagined the weather though, because yes, as he stepped off the plane and looked around, it was raining. Not just the dreary drizzle he’d expected for January, this was hard, cold bouncing rain, bound to get him soaked the moment he stepped out into it, even though he’s brought along his thick Jersey coat for the trip. 

They were there for an extradition, although why the US Marshalls or the UK officials couldn’t deal with it he had no idea but Steve had jumped at the chance. He had been wittering on about the HMS Victory, the SS Great Britain, the HMS Belfast for a couple of weeks now, and Danny had had to remind him that they weren’t actually on vacation, they were there for work. But he wasn’t arguing too much, they’d gotten here a few days before they needed to get to Westminster Magistrates Court for the extradition hearing so they had some time. And it seemed his partner was planning on spending it on a road trip around various historical naval sites. 

“Come on, Danno,” he’d complained when the man himself had informed him logically and calmly (the detective was going to stick to that explanation) that they couldn’t justify a week long road trip on the Governor’s dime. “It’s the Royal Navy, the ROYAL NAVY! We can’t go there and not visit at least one Navy thing. Seriously.”

So here he was, waiting at Heathrow airport to collect their luggage before they could go and get their car that Steve had hired. And from there make their perilous way to Portsmouth. He felt some dread about it, he remembered the nightmare that had been the M25 the last time they were there, it even beat the New Jersey Turnpike for crazy drivers and he’d already browbeaten Steve into letting him drive. So of course he had to steal the keys from him at the rent a car desk, much to the amusement of the person at the desk. Steve pouted all the way out of the airport, until they got onto the road to Hell. And then he just looked around them in awe. “I didn’t think there were this many cars in the UK,” he said to him as Danny moved the car into the 8 lanes of stationary traffic. 

Danny snorted. “I did warn you about booking flights for this time in the morning,” he told him, and forced his way into the lane he wanted. “It’s not ‘rush hour’, it’s ‘stop start four hours’.”

Steve wasn’t that impressed. “You think this is bad? You should see the driving in India. At least all these cars are going in the same direction.” He quickly pointed at a tiny gap in the traffic in the next lane. “Get in there, Danno!” he snapped at him. “That lane’s moving faster.”

Danny glanced around and shook his head. “Nope,” he told him, and settled back to watch the traffic. “No-one’s going anywhere in a hurry. I’m not gonna be one of those assholes who changes lanes just in case it might be a tiny bit faster.”

Steve stared at him in betrayal. “But we’ll never get anywhere at this rate!” he protested. “Danny, we’ve only got a couple of days to get to Portsmouth.”

The man in question studied him in silence for a few moments before he spoke again. “Wah, wah, wah,” he retorted, and then turned back to the traffic in front of them. 

Steve opened his mouth to respond, to say something, but then realised what his partner had said. Exactly the same thing he’d said to him a few months ago during another cargument, when Steve had told him that all he heard from Danny was those same sounds. Obviously Danny had remembered that, the look on his face even as he looked straight out of the window was not an amused one, so he knew he was in the doghouse for that one. “That was a joke,” he told him, trying to persuade him. “I didn’t mean it. I listen to you.”

“I know,” Danny replied, and said nothing more about it. 

 

********************************************************************************

 

It didn’t take that long to get past that particular nightmare of road considering, and they made good time to their destination. The sat nav in the car got them to their hotel and check in was a breeze, they were only there for a couple of days anyway, but before Danny could do anything more than unzip his case Steve was bouncing around like a puppy, wanting to go out again. “It’s just over there, Danny!” he told him, pointing to the wharf they could see through their window. “Come on, let’s go. Danny!”

His enthusiasm was infectious, well, Danny didn’t want to disappoint him, and so he sighed and nodded. Luckily the rain that had tormented him on the drive down had dissipated, so he wasn’t going to get too wet. Hopefully. Not that he would have had a chance to; he reviewed as Steve dragged him across the street. He didn’t say anything though; he hadn’t seen Steve look so enthralled at anything in a while now, so he went along with it. And was glad he did. The ship was lovely, and they seemed to have it virtually to themselves. Danny chatted to the tour guide while Steve seemed to scurry around every little nook and cranny he could – touching as much as he could, almost as if he could feel the crew members that had fought and died on her. And after a couple of hours on there he then dragged his long-suffering partner to the Mary Rose museum not to far away. 

They were enough to make the trip worthwhile for both of them, Steve for the history, Danny for the obvious enjoyment his other half was getting out of it. He was still grinning about it on the flight back, when they were stuck in the back of a plane with their fugitive in between them and telling the hapless idiot all about it. Danny sat back in his seat and smiled to himself as he watched – it was definitely worth the trip.


	16. Celebrating a holiday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas in the McGarrett-Williams household

Steve checked his list again and huffed out a long breath. Had he got enough? Were they appropriate? Would the Williams’ like them? It was their first Christmas together as the four of them, with Grace and Charlie both with Danny and himself, and he was concerned. Danny had gone over board on him last year, he hadn’t expected anything, just having the Jersey detective in his life was more than enough, and he’d told him that. Only to have his partner laugh at him, kiss him sweetly and hand him a box. The watch was something he hated being without, he wore it everywhere, and it was the last thing he took off at night and the first thing in the morning. This year he’d enlisted Grace’s help and she’d been happy to assist. 

So now he’d spent the afternoon of Christmas Eve wrapping presents while Danny had gone out to brave the grocery store for the last minute items he’d forgotten, or so he said. Steve hadn’t believed a word of it, Danny had been planning this as soon as he’d managed to get both of his kids for the holiday and had been getting his supplies for the last month. What he had done was hand over a large box filled with items that needed wrapping, and then quickly run out of the door, shouting his explanation as he did so. He hated wrapping, he was bad at it, and Steve shook his head in fond amusement. The SEAL hadn’t admitted to his lover that he actually quite liked doing it, he could get the corners really sharp, liked making sure the edges were straight, and, just to annoy the love of his life, tape all of the edges, corners and folds so it will take an age to open. It also gave him time to wrap Danny’s without the detective looking over his shoulder – it was bad enough keeping the different items hidden from him, he’d caught Danny trying to find them in the house at least twice in the last couple of weeks, accusing him of being more of a kid about it than his kids. 

“Our kids,” the detective had replied, kissed his nose and then carried right on searching. 

Steve placed everything just so under the tree – a proper one this time, not stolen from a forest (he’d bought one earlier in the year, re-potted it into something a decent size and kept it outside the house until the right time. It had taken the two of them to drag it in) – and stood back to study the haul. The space under the tree was virtually full, but even as he looked Bilbo the dog ran up to the piles and started sniffing them out. “You are going to be a problem,” he said to the dog, and stepped forward to pick him up. “There are a couple for you, but not all of them,” he added, tapping the happy mutt on the nose. “Do you think Danny’ll like it?” he added and nuzzled the pup as he worried. 

He didn’t really have to wait long, Danny was back before long and he stared at the pile under the tree in shock before turning to the still – concerned SEAL. “You bought too much, you adorable man,” he told him fondly. “They already love you, you don’t need to buy them off.”

Steve shrugged; he was pleased; it was probably obvious on his face. “I just…” he began but didn’t know how to finish. He needn’t have worried, Danny understood.  
The detective walked over to him and slipped his hand onto the nape of his lover’s neck, using his thumb to caress the skin there. “We all love you, you goof. You don’t need to worry about that. Ever.”

Steve didn’t fight the smile on his face, probably one of those goofy ones the smaller guy kept going on about. “Really?” he queried. 

Danny laughed and pulled him down so he could kiss him. “Yes, really, Commander McMarshmallow,” he reassured him. “You want me to show you how much I love you?”

Steve acted as if he was trying to think about it, but couldn’t hold him off for long. He stepped forward and embraced him tightly. “I think that would be very helpful, Detective, yes,” he agreed. And let his partner take him upstairs and show him. Thoroughly.


	17. On Vacation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny's plans come to fruition

Steve stared around him at the scenery in awe. He had never been here before and he had wondered when Danny had handed him the tickets whether he’d had a brain fart. But now he realised his partner knew him well, very, well. They had flown into Reykjavik after a long flight 5 days ago, spent a couple of days there and then got the car, a nice 4x4 and a loose itinerary and here they were. 

Gullfoss falls were magnificent, Danny had come up with a lot of other words to describe them: stupendous, awe-inspiring, resplendent, divine to name a few. Long, wide with millions of gallons of glacial melt water cascading over them, Steve couldn’t argue with the amount of words his lover had used. And the falls weren’t even the highlight of this part of the trip. They’d spent the day there, a lazy one, spending a lot of the morning in bed at the hotel to then get up for lunch and then explore. 

The main event was still to come – Danny had arranged with someone to borrow a load of camping gear which was in the back of the car with a location not too far away they could get to that was completely devoid of any lights. The hope was the Northern Lights. The weather was clear, it was still only March so snow lay everywhere – Steve hadn’t driven over, around and among so much snow for a long time – and it looked like it was going to remain so for the night. Danny had been checking the Icelandic Met office’s Aurora prediction site daily and tonight seemed to be the best night for viewing. The SEAL had seen them before, in lands that had been so classified he was concerned even to admit their existence to his partner, but here, here in the land of huge skies, he could share them with someone he loved. He couldn’t wait, and when Danny walked over to him and handed him a steaming mug of hot chocolate he grinned at him as he took it and bent to press a kiss to his mouth. “Did I tell you I love you this morning?” he asked him as Danny leant against him. 

The other man looked up and smiled, nodding. “You did, yes,” he assured him. “Are you having a good time?” he asked him, and sipped his drink.

Steve looked around him and took in the hotel lounge they were standing in, the picture windows in front showing the huge vista in front of them. “It’s a bit cold,” he replied, fondly amused. “I’m wearing four layers, and that’s inside.”

Danny poked him with his elbow. “You’ve gotten used to the heat in Hawaii, you softie,” he retorted as fondly. “It’s 30 degrees Fahrenheit outside, that’s warm for Hoboken in winter.”

Steve changed his mug into his other hand so he could slip his arm around Danny’s shoulders and hug him tightly. “Tropical,” he said dryly, but belied his tone by dropping another kiss in his lover’s hair. “I’m having a great time, Danno,” he assured him. “Really. This was such a good idea.”

Danny smiled up at him. “I’m pleased you like it, Babe,” he answered him. “I thought you’d like it.”

“I am,” Steve assured him. “And I’m looking forward to tonight, being shacked up with you on our own with a tent and a sleeping bag. Heaven.” 

Danny snorted with laughter and drank some of his drink. “Just a little bit cold,” he cautioned. 

Steve laughed quietly. “I’m sure I can warm you up,” he promised and hugged him tighter. “I have many ways of doing that.” 

Danny thought about it and had to agree. “Yes, yes you do, Commander McGarrett, sir. You do indeed.” And he spent some time standing there, watching the river and landscape in front of them, thinking about some of the many talented ways his lover had of warming him up. 

 

*****************************************************************************************

 

They ended up wrapped up in the sleeping bags on the hood of the SUV, leaning back and watching the night sky as it came alive. The colours were astounding, waves of light that danced across the stars. Danny got a lot of gorgeous photos with his large DLSR that he had brought with them and had then climbed onto the hood with his husband just to watch. They didn’t stay all night, it was too cold even for Danny, and they reluctantly left the area and drove the SUV back to the hotel in silence, there was nothing they could say about it. 

They warmed up in their room under a mutual hot shower, and then huddled in bed, both staring out of the large picture window as the show continued around them. Steve, spooned up behind Danny, pressed a kiss to Danny’s soft hair. “This is just … amazing, Danno,” he said quietly to him. “Thank you so much.”

Danny smiled and threaded his fingers through Steve’s hand on his chest and squeezed. “You deserve it, Love,” he assured him. “I’m very pleased you’re enjoying it.”

“I am,” Steve answered him, and buried his face in his lover’s soft hair. “I am.”


	18. Eating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tag to 5.07

Danny took care with the meal, making sure everything was cooked properly, checking seasoning, making sure everything was seasoned to the way Steve liked, that the bread he had baked from scratch wasn’t crusty – the SEAL didn’t like it. He ladled out two bowls of the broth he’d made, put the fresh hot rolls in a bowl to keep them in and got the butter out of the fridge and put all of it on the tray he had gotten out. He also added a couple of bottles of water and another of juice also on the tray, and then carried it carefully out of the kitchen, through the house and up the stairs to their bedroom. 

Steve was where he had left him, in bed, on his side, covers pulled up to his neck, eyes closed. He wasn’t asleep, Danny knew him well enough to know that, and he just hadn’t wanted to interact with anyone earlier. His lover could understand it, he’d spent time in hospital since they’d gotten him back from that horrible place, but he was in no fit state to face the world. 

Danny put the tray down on the dresser and walked over to his partner, crouching down beside him so he was level with him before he said anything. “Steve?” he called to him and laid a hand on one of his he could see under the sheet. “I’ve made some lunch.”

Steve frowned and forced his eyes open to look at him. “Not hungry,” he murmured, his voice hoarse. 

Danny nodded, he knew that would be the response. “You need to eat, Love,” he persisted. “I’ve made some broth for you, it’ll be good on your throat.”

Steve blinked at him and then sighed. “I guess,” he commented and started to move. Danny stood and it took the two of them to get the SEAL to sit up and his partner quickly shoved a pillow behind Steve’s back so he could lean backwards against it and not hurt himself. 

“All right?” Danny asked him before he went back to get the tray. Steve nodded and cracked a very slight smile when his lover presented his wares for him. “The only thing I didn’t make was the butter,” the detective told the big SEAL as he put it on the bed beside him. 

Steve looked up at him and tried to smile a bit more. “That’s not very committed, Danno,” he said quietly but his amusement was obvious. 

Danny grinned at him and quickly pressed a kiss to his lover’s temple before he handed him a bowl. “You can teach me how, when you’re feeling like it,” he commented. “Do you want a roll as well?”

Steve looked at them for a moment before he nodded. “Can you put some butter on it?” he asked and grabbed a spoon. Danny nodded and did as he asked, watching him out of the corner of his eye as he did so. Steve’s hand wasn’t shaking too much today, he used the spoon well enough and was interested in the contents of the bowl. He tried it and seemed to like it, at least, he kept drinking the soup, and then dunked some of the bread in it as well, chewing on that contentedly. “This is good, Danno,” he told him after a few spoonfuls. “You should eat yours.”

Danny nodded and did what he suggested. He sat down next to his lover and dug in as well but was happy to stop and butter some more rolls when Steve asked him. He was pleased to check when Steve had had enough that he had eaten most of the soup, virtually all of the chicken and vegetables he’d put in it, and a couple of the rolls as well, which was more than he’d eaten in the last few days put together. “Feeling better?” he asked him when he put his own bowl back down on the tray. 

Steve looked over at him. “Not yet,” he admitted quietly. “He….” He began but then shook his head. “Not only was my Dad alive, but you… you were happy here,” he explained. “You were wearing this hideous Hawaiian shirt, it was black with a lot of huge, colourful flowers on it. Chin would have been proud,” he added with a dry little smile. 

“Huh,” Danny replied as he thought about that one. “No tie?” he asked. 

Steve shook his head. “No tie,” he replied. “And you let me, you ASKED me to call you Danno the moment we met. That should have clued me in that something was wrong.” He added grimly. 

“Come here, Babe,” Danny opened his arms out to him and Steve didn’t even pause. He rolled over and plastered himself against him, buried his face in his lover’s neck and wrapped an arm around his waist, using the other hand to clutch and bunch up his t-shirt. Danny embraced him tightly and pressed a kiss into his hair before burying his nose in it and breathing him in. “I am happy here, Steven,” he assured him; his voice muffled but his conviction sure and clear. “You’ve made me happy here, despite my best intentions to be miserable. You and your shark cages, and your grand theft auto, and your ridiculously toned abs,” he added and pressed his hand flat against them.

Steve smiled and let go of the t-shirt so he could slide his hand underneath it and splay his fingers out on Danny’s own abs. “Yours are pretty good too, Danno,” he told him. “Despite all the malasadas and cocoa puffs. They’re just really well hidden under all that hair.”

Danny laughed quietly, a sound that rumbled through his chest and into Steve’s ear pressed against it, like a big cat purring. “I love you, you silly SEAL. Even if you do have weird ideas about food.” 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Steve retorted quietly. He was comfortable, full, warm and content, which lead to him deciding a nap was in order. “I love you too,” he assured him and closed his eyes. It didn’t take him long to drop off and his partner was quite happy to hug him tight and wait him out.


	19. Listening to music

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny runs to a harsh beat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Excuse the delay - my cat died suddenly and it's really put me off. I miss her....

Danny made sure he had the right playlist set on his ipod, pushed the headphones into his ears and looked around him, making sure he had no audience. He didn’t like anyone watching him when he was running, he didn’t have the same physique his partner did, didn’t have the same confidence, and he did like to hide his own fitness regime from people. Steve swam for miles, sprinted up mountains for fun; Danny jogged to his favourite music, letting the beat dictate his speed. However much he may bitch about exercise, he did like to run, it allowed him to think through things on his own without distractions. And boy, did he need to do that now? 

The argument had been nasty; he didn’t even remember what started it, just that it escalated quickly. Steve had said some things that had rendered Danny speechless – that he regretted ever letting Danny live in his house, that he wasn’t surprised Rachel had dumped him. Danny had responded in kind, of course he had, he wouldn’t be himself if he hadn’t. That Steve was a robot, a control freak in the worst way, that his rules were stupid, that no wonder Cath left him. And at that he’d stopped, pressed his hand to his mouth and shook his head at the expression of deep hurt on his lover’s face. He’d apologised straight away, Steve had too, but rather than face each other the SEAL had gone swimming and Danny had chosen to run. He’d left him a note, calling himself an idiot, that he was so fucking sorry, that he loved him so much, and that he was going for a run to clear his head. 

So now he was, pounding the pavement in front of him to Alien Ant Farm loud in his ears, followed by Marilyn Manson, Five Finger Death Punch, The Pretty Reckless, his hard, loud, sometimes painful metal playlist that he kept to himself. He ran, one foot in front of the other, not caring how far, just that he needed to let the music and movement let him get out of his head, stop the argument going round and round and round, stop hearing himself shouting those hurtful words. Yes Steve said some stuff that stabbed but that didn’t stop Danny feeling so damned guilty. So he ran, and he didn’t plan on ever stopping. 

 

************************************************************************** 

 

Steve swam as far as he could out away from the house, the words he has shouted at Danny ringing around his head. How could he say that stuff to him, to Danny of all people, to the only person who had stood by him through thick and thin, through everything that had happened here since he’d gotten home? To the person who had made Hawaii home again? Yes, Danny had retorted in kind, he wouldn’t be Danny if he hadn’t, but Steve knew his partner, his lover, his everything had not deserved it. He’d snapped at him about something stupid, probably one of their cases but it could just have easily been some socks left on the floor for all he remembered, and it had escalated from there. 

He just couldn’t get the expression of hurt on Danny’s face out of his mind’s eye; his normally verbose lover had pressed his hand to his mouth and shook his head, started saying how sorry he was… Danny? Apologising for something Steve had started? No, just … it had all be so fucking stupid. So now he was swimming away from it, the pain in his arms, legs, shoulders as penance for the stuff he’d said, for the stuff he hadn’t said. He hadn’t said he’d been pleased when Cath had left, yes, she’d obviously lied to him about going to Nepal, but she’d gone, he’d had the courage to tell her that no, he wasn’t going to wait, and that had finally given him the head start he had needed to get his head out of his ass and ask Danny on a proper date. 

He normally listened to the music the ocean played him when he swam; the sound of the waves against him, against each other, the sea birds overhead, and the noises of the occasional aquatic creature that came to investigate him. But not today, all he could hear was the sound of his own voice shouting awful things at the one person who least deserved it. 

But he wasn’t one to dwell, and even as he swam further out he was trying to come up with something, anything that could make this better. Turning round would be a good start he’d told himself after a few more strokes, so he stopped suddenly, shook his head and did just that. The beach and the house looked tiny from this distance, he just hoped Danny would still be there when he got back. 

 

*****************************************************************************************

 

Steve knew it, even as he dragged himself out of the ocean and onto the beach, that Danny had gone. There was no towel waiting for him on his chair, no partner sitting on his chair with a sardonic comment at his wet body, no lascivious grin at his abs, no ready kiss for him. Steve walked slowly into the house and didn’t really want to look around, just in case he found his life gone along with Danny’s things. His lover was stubborn enough to do that, to leave him alone because of something he’d done, but he’d hoped this time that Danny would stay, would let him make it right. He looked around slowly, expecting the place to be empty, and he was immensely relieved to find the same controlled chaos his, their home had turned into when he had invited Danny and his children in. The relief was palpable, and he looked around some more. To find a note stuck to the TV in the living room. 

He walked over and read it quickly, and breathed a sigh of relief. Running to clear his head, which meant Danny was coming back. That he could deal with. But he didn’t know how long that would be, and he wanted to deal with this now. He knew the normal routes Danny took, so he quickly went to the laundry room, yanked off his wet shorts and pulled on some freshly laundered track pants, Danny hated it if he got the seats in his car wet. 

Three minutes later he was out of the house, in the Camaro and driving down the road, along the route his partner normally took. 

 

********************************************************************************

 

It took a while to find him, when Danny was annoyed, frustrated and generally in a bad mood he tended to run faster, and Steve didn’t really know when he had left their house. He was still surprised when he finally saw him, seven miles away, still running away from the house. Danny was not looking where he was going, just at his feet, and Steve saw the lines snaking from his ears to his chest, probably earphones. Which meant he wouldn’t hear if Steve pressed the horn. The SEAL chewed on his lip for a moment, deciding what to do, then just shrugged and pulled the car around his partner, stopped it in front of him. Danny stopped, surprised, when he spotted it, just as Steve was getting out, and he blinked up at him, breathing heavily. 

He looked … ragged, was the term the Commander decided on. Sweat dripped off his face, his hair was plastered to his skull, he had damp patches under his arms, on his chest, and his eyes were red-rimmed. When he recognised his partner he slumped, and Steve grabbed him quickly before he could hit the asphalt. He could hear the music Danny had been listening too from there, tinny from the headphones, but couldn’t make out what it was. It didn’t matter anyway; Danny pulled the headphones out of his ears and looked up at him. 

“I’m so sorry,” the smaller man apologised, his voice hoarse. “I never, I shouldn’t… Steve, I…”

Steve pulled him close to him and pressed a kiss to his lover’s temple. “Neither should I,” he told him. “I should never have said what I did. Let me take you home. We can shower, and maybe start today off again?”

Danny looked up at him and gave him a small smile. “Good idea, Babe,” he agreed. “A do over.”

 

********************************************************************************

 

That day ended far better than it started. The pair of them had showered, Steve had done as suggested and taken them both back to bed where he’d apologised profusely, told him how much he loved Danny and showed him the only way he knew how. Then they’d enjoyed a late lunch and spent the rest of the day just sprawled out on the couch, tangled up in each other, watching bad TV.


	20. Watching sports

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve is a pushover for the kids

Steve could watch Danny watch his kids all day and night. He was so gentle with them, so encouraging, so when they were both involved in a sports day at Grace’s school, Steve of course was going to tag along. Not that Danny would let him do anything other than that, his partner had simply handed him a large back pack, tapped his watch and told him they were going to be late if he didn’t hurry his ass along. So here he was, standing behind the love of his life, while that man yelled encouragement at both his kids from the trackside. It was an odd thing they were doing, Steve thought to himself, probably something to encourage more people to send their younger kids to the school. But whatever the motivations it was obvious most of the kids, and the people were enjoying it. 

A sports day with older and younger siblings was interesting to say the least, at least Grace and Charlie liked each other! They were going great guns down the track, Grace behind Charlie as he concentrated on keeping the spoon steady with the egg in it, she with her hands on his shoulders and using her grip to turn him in the right direction. They were working together, as he knew they would, a lot better than some of the other pairs in the race, and even as he watched and Danny shouted himself hoarse, the lead team in front of them dropped their egg, allowing the Williamses to move in front. 

Danny leapt to his feet, shouting encouragement all the way, and it was only Grace’s hands on Charlie’s shoulders that stopped him from checking out where his Danno was making all the noise from. Steve didn’t even bother trying to stop him from running alongside the track with them, and he ended up watching all three of his family from their spot with a rueful grin. Of course the kids won, and Danny leapt in the air in joy at the finish line before he rushed over to them and grabbed them both in a tight hug. Charlie was getting so much better, a year ago he’d not been able to join in on this day, having to watch from the sidelines with them while Gracie competed on her own. Now it was as if he was a different kid, happy, so much healthier, and he beamed at his Dad when the detective swept him up in his arms. 

Steve hollered and clapped with everyone else, sent a couple of wolf whistles their way too, and grinned back when Danno looked at him with so much pride on his face. Carrying Charlie he ushered Grace towards Steve and the trio made their way over to the other member of their small family. Steve crouched a little so he could hug Grace when she threw her arms around him, and he was still tall enough that he could lift her off the ground and hug her tight. He gave her a sloppy kiss on her forehead, laughed at her. “Ew, Dad!” and looked over at Danny and Charlie when the child laughed too. 

Danny grinned at him. “Don’t forget, you’re in the Dad’s race, Steve,” he reminded him, amused. 

“And it’s a slow motion race!” Grace added at the grimace Steve gave at that. “That means you’ve got to be really slow!”

Steve groaned. “How did I get roped into that one?” he asked no one and all of them. “Who put me down for that?”

Danny tried to look innocent, but Charlie gave it away by tugging at his father’s shirt. “Danno!” he crowed. 

Steve looked up at his partner and raised an eyebrow. “I’m going to get you back for that, Danno,” he threatened good-naturedly. “Some time when you’re least expecting it.” 

Danny, never having believed him before, laughed. “Bring it on, Smooth Dog,” he retorted. 

Steve nodded and winked at Charlie. “Okay,” he agreed. “Whatever you say, Danno, whatever you say.”


	21. On the couch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny comes home

It was well into tomorrow when Danny finally got home from New Jersey, finally. It had been good to see his old friends and colleagues again, good to spend some time with his family, but bad to have to go over an old case in court, again. Luckily for the victims, the perpetrator’s re-trial had gone the same way as the original – guilty of murder and he’d been taken back to prison, swearing and cursing – the same as he had the first time. 

Danny had left the very next day, almost as soon as he could, but the flights had been delayed and it was virtually twenty-three hours since he’d left Newark.   
He was surprised therefore to find a light on in the house when he got home, he’d thought his family would be asleep, but he was still quiet when he let himself in. The alarm wasn’t on which made him frown, it was after midnight so he expected Steve to be in bed, but when he walked in Bilbo came running up to him from the couch. He shut the door to make sure the dog didn’t get out and crouched down in front of him. “Hey, Bil,” he greeted the dog and stroked him vigorously, scratching behind his ears and fluffing his fur. “You okay?”

The dog grinned up at him and Danny dropped his bag and swapped it for the dog, standing again with him in his arms. “Where’s Daddy?” he asked Bilbo, who licked him in response. 

Danny huffed in amusement and walked in to the house, kicking off his shoes as he did so. His route took him past the couch and he stopped short when he looked down on it. 

Steve was stretched out on it, fast asleep with a blanket covering his lover half to his waist. He was hugging one of the cushions and was using it as a pillow. He looked relaxed, calm and younger than normal, and Danny crouched in front of him and smiled. He was surprised his husband hadn’t woken when he had unlocked the door, but shrugged it off and nuzzled Bilbo still in his arms. “He’s almost as cute as you when he’s asleep,” he said quietly to the dog. 

Bilbo huffed in agreement.

Danny put him down onto the floor and leant close to his lover. He gently pressed a kiss to his mouth and buried his hand in his soft hair, and waited for a response.

Steve woke slowly, blinking up at him, and his smile was slow, tired and guileless. “Danno,” he said quietly. “You’re home.”

“Yeah, Babe,” his partner replied fondly. “You wanna go to bed?”

Steve stretched and snuggled back into the cushion. “Comfy here.”

Danny grinned and kissed him again. “No-one would believe you’re the tough Navy SuperSEAL,” he murmured and scratched his scalp with his hand. 

Steve closed his eyes and sighed. “Room enough for both of us, Danno,” he murmured, and settled back down again. 

Danny shook his head and sighed. “Fine,” he agreed, and let him go. Not for long though, he dipped into the laundry room to find something much more comfortable to sleep in and then headed back to the living room. Steve had moved, but not much, just enough for his partner to snuggle on the couch with him. Danny found himself on his stomach, using the cushion Steve was using as a pillow, while his lover stretched out on top of him. They had bought a new, long couch for this exact reason – so Steve could stretch his overly long legs out – so he was comfortable at least. He dragged the blanket up around his shoulders, embraced Danny’s chest, buried his face in the soft t shirt he had found, and closed his eyes again, ready, willing and able to go back to sleep. “Missed you, Danno,” he murmured before he dropped off. “Glad you’re home.”

Danny closed his eyes too and smiled. “Me too, Love,” he assured him. “Me too.” 

It was the best sleep both of them had had for a week.


	22. Watching TV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TV is great for procrastination

Danny used the remote to flick through channel after channel of bad TV and sighed. Despite the huge amount of channels Steve had there was absolutely nothing on that he wanted to watch, not even any bad cop shows that he could belittle. He’d watched all of their stored football games, the pair of them had gone on a binge a couple of days ago to clear the memory on the DVR box so there was nothing on there for him. All he could find was a Doctor Sexy marathon, and he smiled to himself when it brought up some memories. A pair of brothers when he was in New Jersey, one of whom had an addiction to the lame TV show, and he sat back and put his feet up on the coffee table to watch it. 

It was lame, just as he thought it was, but the main guy was quite handsome, and the cowboy boots were a new thing. He ended up enjoying it, and he realised after about one and three quarter episodes why Dean had been so obsessed. 

 

******************************************************************************

 

Steve walked in a couple of hours later and found his lover stretched out on the couch, a huge bowl of popcorn on his lap that he was dipping in to as he stared at the TV screen. Whatever it was that was on had him enthralled, he didn’t even seem to notice when the Commander walked in. Until Steve leant over the couch and stole some of his popcorn. 

Danny jumped, startled and stared up at him in surprise. “What the...? When did you get in?” he asked. “I didn’t hear you.”

Steve grinned and vaulted over the back of the couch to sit next to him. “That’s because I’m super stealthy,” he told him and stole some more popcorn. “What are you watching?”

“Doctor Sexy marathon,” Danny replied. “And you are not super stealthy, we’ve already gone over that, a couple of years ago if I remember.” 

Steve laughed and shoved the popcorn into his mouth. He watched the screen in front of them and was pleased to see no aliens giving birth, but some off medical soap opera he never thought he’d see his partner watch. But Danny had been engrossed in it, almost the same when he was watching that gross movie, so he sat back and watched too. 

As he had thought it was as bad as that, and he watched his partner engrossed in it with wide eyes. “Why are you watching this crap, Danno?” he asked him after a while. 

“Nothing else on,” his partner replied around a mouthful of more popcorn. “It’s not that bad.”

Steve frowned and glanced in front of them to the mass of paperwork on the coffee table in front of them, Danny’s laptop out with it. He knew what this was, he had done it himself when he’d had reports and stuff he’d had to complete that he really didn’t want to. “You found something, anything else to do than those forms,” he commented. “Doctor Sexy, really? You couldn’t have done something else, like tidy the yard, or all the laundry.”

Danny glanced over at him and then grinned. “Did all the laundry,” he assured him. “Changed all the beds. Cleaned all the rooms, including the kitchen and bathrooms. The yard is your job, yours and Gracie. What with all the tarantulas, camel spiders and huge millipedes in there. I’m not stupid you know.”

Steve had to smile at him. “Camel spiders?” he queried and grabbed some more popcorn. “They don’t live here,” he assured him. “And it’s highly unlikely you’ll find tarantulas in the yard.”

“But there are huge millipedes, Steven,” he responded. “Bigger than anacondas. I’ve seen them, out there, in that jungle outside.”

Steve laughed at him and watched as Doctor Sexy seduced yet another pretty nurse. “One more episode, and then we can both get those forms done,” he told him and shifted close to him on the couch so they were touching knee to shoulder. “You’ve done a will before.”

Danny leant heavily against him. “I know, but this time I’ve got to take Matty out of it,” he told him, his voice quiet. 

Steve laid a hand on his thigh and squeezed. “Yeah,” he agreed and gave him a moment. “But you’ve also got to put Charlie into it. See that as a bonus.” 

It took a moment before his lover pressed his own hand on top of Steve’s and interlocked their fingers. “Definitely a bonus,” he agreed. He looked at the Commander and smiled at him. “One more episode.” 

Steve leant over and pressed a kiss to his mouth. “One more.”


End file.
